Apparatus fob packing fruit



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT LAW, OF LOCKPORT, NE\V YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND P. T. DIX, l

0F OLCOTT, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR PACKING- FRUIT.

Specicaton of Letters Patent No. 24,779, dated July 12, 1859.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT LAW, of Lockport, inv the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Machine. for Packing Fruit in Barrels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon, Figure l being an Ielevation thereof, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view representing its application tothe closing of a barrel of fruit.

Similar letters refer to corresponding parts in both figures.

In packing fruit for market, it is essential for safe carriage, that it should be closely compressed in the barrels used for that purpose; otherwise the movement and friction to which it is liable, would occasion bruises and abrasions sufficient to engender premature decay. It is difficult to replace the head of the barrel, which must be filled above the level of the top, under the considerable pressure required to force the fruit into a smaller compass; and my invention is designed to facilitate this operation, While applying any considerable amount of pressure that may be deemed necessary. For this purpose, I employ two clamping levers A, A, connected together by the fulcrum-link B, and V- shaped nut or yoke C. This yoke forms the nut of the hand screw, D, which works in a socket in the follower E. The lower ends, or long arms, of the lever are provided with claws, f' f, having teeth which take into the staves of the barrel by pressure, while the upper ends are inclined. to the center, or screw D, in the form of an arch, and are provided with hooked recesses, g g, which enter slots in the end of the yoke or nut, and are secured there by the pins It, zf. The recesses are long enough to give considerable movement upon the pins, which allows the claw-ends, g, to recede from or approach each other, and thereby adapts them to the variations in the size of the barrels, and to be readily placed on and off. The nut (a portion of which is broken away at c', to show the construction) is wedge-shaped, presenting inclined planes to the ends of the levers A, where they are in contact.

The operation is as follows The barrel being filled with fruit, the head is laid on and the packer applied, the follower, E, resting across the head. By turning the screw, D, by means of the hand wheel, or any suitable lever or wrench, the wedge-shaped nut, C, is raised from its relative position to the follower which, by spreading the upper ends of the levers, causes them to clamp the bilge of the barrel firmly, when the continued action of the screw forces the follower downward till the head is crowded into the croze and secured. The beveled recesses, 7c, at each end of the follower, enter the chime in the end of the barrel and facilitate the guiding of the head into its place properly. On reversing the action of the screw D, the pins z., iz., press down upon the hooked recesses g g, of the levers, and automatically release the claws f, f, from the barrel, and then force the levers farther down over the barrel, to get a new hold.

The operation is very simple and effectual, and, as the gripping of the levers into the sides of the barrel increases proportionately to the resistance of the head, it cannot fail of accomplishing the purpose by releasing its hold.

The claws extend to the bilge, or greatest diameter of the barrel, causing the pressure to be exerted equally on the staves, and serving to prevent the hoops from bursting in the operation.

I disclaim the use of bent gripping levers jointed to a yoke, which is actuated by a screw.

That I claim as my inventionand desire to secure by Letters Patent is- The V-shaped or wedge-acting yoke C, provided with fulcrum pins L, h, and the hooked recesses g, g, in the upper ends of the bent clamping leve-rs A, A, arranged and acting in combination with the screw D, ful Crum-link B, and claws f, f, or their equivalents, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein specified.

ROBERT LAW.

Witnesses t G. D. Roo'r, 1WALTER SIMMONS. 

